Things Lost In The Fire
by Defying.Expectations
Summary: Perhaps Dolores Umbridge didn't just take Moody's eye and stick it on her door because she wanted to spy on her employees. Perhaps Dolores Umbridge wasn't just wearing Salazar's locket because she relished the feeling of power the Horcrux gave her.
1. Chapter One

"Damn Order," Scrimgeour muttered, settling down into his office chair, looking disgruntled.

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Dolores asked with sympathy, rushing over to his side, summoning a pot of tea and a cup as she did so. "What have they done now?"

"They tried to move Potter from his house with the Muggles to the Weasleys without us knowing about it," said Scrimgeour, accepting the cup of tea she had just poured for him with a nod of thanks. "Split up into tiny groups and flew there, stopping off at different locations along the way to keep their trail hard to track. Of course, it's understandable that they didn't want to use methods that could be easily tracked, for fear of You-Know-Who, but with our protection they wouldn't have encountered such problems . . ."

"What happened?" Dolores inquired curiously, sitting down next to him.

"The Death Eaters tracked them anyway. They attacked. The whole mess could have been so easily avoided, were they only willing to cooperate with us!" Scrimgeour sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Well, at least most just suffered minimal injuries, and only one was killed in the fray. Alastor Moody was shot by a curse and fell to the ground."

Her heart jumped straight up into her throat, throbbing as fast as a hummingbird beats its wings.

"What's exasperating is how little respect they give us," Scrimgeour continued. "The Order, that is. We're all on the same side now. None of us are pleased about You-Know-Who's reign, this divide with them . . . they are truly just being difficult, and it's such a shame."

"Yes," she echoed, her voice sounding to her as though it was coming in from distant mountains. "Yes, a shame. Such a shame."

"Ah, I must be going, Dolores," said Scrimgeour, checking his watch. "I shall see you later."

"Mmm. Yes." _You are impassive,_ she told herself silently, _you are immune, you are nonchalant, this news means nothing to you. You couldn't care less. You do not care at all._

Scrimgeour creaked to his feet, leaning on his walking stick, and began to hobble away before turning back around. "Oh, I nearly forgot – we were thinking of sending several of our staff to go and recover Mad-Eye's body, before the Death Eaters can grab onto it, you know. Whatever else he might have been, Moody was once an Auror, and should be treated with the proper respect of a Ministry worker, at least a small burial. Can I entrust the task of organizing that to you?"

She pressed a smile onto her face. "Of course, Minister."

He smiled back at her. "Thank you, Dolores," he said sincerely.

She nodded, smiling so determinedly she thought she might make herself sick. Scrimgeour rotated back around and limped out of view. Only then did Dolores' sweet simper falter, and the grief that she had been holding at bay came rushing forth, engulfing her in their midst.

_One was killed in the fray. Alastor Moody._

Alastor . . . dead . . . Alastor . . . dead . . .

_Alastor._

_No,_ she reminded herself, shoving her small hands against her face, covering her eyes, blocking out everything, submitting to the cool black pressing in on her eyelids. _No. You do not care. You are indifferent, you are apathetic, you are unfeeling – it means nothing to you, his death means nothing to you, because he was nothing to you._

_Alastor._

He _had_ been nothing to her. They had hardly had any contact in years. They'd had opposing views, they were on opposing sides. She hadn't known him at all, and therefore, he didn't mean anything to her.

But he once had . . . he once had meant something to her. What that 'something' was, it was hard for her to define now. Still, it was there. It was something. And something is a hell of a lot more than nothing.

_She is eleven, a first year at Hogwarts. _

_(He is thirteen, a third year at Hogwarts.)_

_She has only been at school for a month, but she has already come to adore every aspect of it. She loves the classes, the teachers, the winding corridors, the moving staircases, the delicious food, the common room. _

_She loves everything but her fellow students, really. Sure, some of them are fine, but most of them are the most untidy, sloppy, lumbering bunch of oafs that she has ever had the misfortune to meet. She prefers people who actually care about being presentable, those who follow the rules and enjoy a certain order to their lives._

_To be frank, there is one other thing she doesn't love about Hogwarts, and that is the homework. She understands its importance, of course, but that doesn't mean she has to like doing it. And the students seem to get so much of it!_

_That is what she is engaged in right now: a towering pile of homework. It is late at night, and she is very tired, but she knows she must complete this work, and so continues scribbling furiously on her Charms essay. She tries not to think about the fact that she has a Potions chart _and_ a Transfiguration paper to finish after this. The clock reads a quarter past two in the morning, and no one else is in the common room, but she knows she must keep writing, she must keep writing . . . _

_The fire is very warm . . . her chair is quite comfortable . . . Dolores jerks her head up from her shoulder as she feels herself being carried along by the currents of sleep. She must keep working . . . she stares at the flickering flames in the fireplace. They look almost like little streamers, blowing and twirling in blurs of color . . . _

_The bright streamers slowly turn to shades of blue and green, as all around her the room fills with water, and the fire is suddenly not fire, instead it is seaweed. . . . Her _Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_ bursts through the seaweed, swimming peacefully along, flapping its covers like fins . . . she stretches out her arms languidly and begins to swim after it, getting caught up in the current, allowing herself to float along in the water . . . _

_There is another thing swimming along close to her right shoulder. She turns her head to get a better look at it, and sees that it is a human, a boy, with dark hair falling all around his face, small inky eyes, and a subtle grin. His face is very close to hers, much _too _close. She pulls away from him, but he follows her movements and pushes closer. She draws back again, he moves closer . . . the water around him is swirling, fading . . ._

_Next thing she knows, she is back in the common room: the fire has become fire again, and the room is not filled with water – but the boy is still very close to her, staring at her with intent eyes as he sits perched on the arm of her chair._

_She shrieks and jumps, her parchment and books sliding from her lap and landing on the ground._

"_What are you doing?" she asks shrilly, leaping up from her chair and whirling around to face the boy, who stares at her with an unperturbed expression. "If you wanted to wake me up, you could have just tapped me, instead of just sitting there sticking your face in mine! What was that for?"_

"_Your guard was down," says the boy, shrugging. "You were putting yourself in a vulnerable position, and I wanted to get that point across."_

"_I – well, of course I was in a 'vulnerable position,' I was asleep! How could someone not be – "_

"_You shouldn't have fallen asleep in the common room," the boy replies._

"_I was doing homework, I had to work, and – "_

"_Nearly anyone can come in here. Someone could have attacked you with absurd ease while you were sleeping in that chair."_

"_Oh, like you did?" she asks snidely, glaring at him. "Who _are_ you, anyway?"_

"_Alastor Moody," says the boy. "And you?"_

"_Dolores Jane Umbridge," she says to him haughtily._

"_I see. Well, g'night, Dolores Jane Umbridge," says Alastor, bounding up from the armrest. "And don't go falling asleep in open areas again. You never know when an attack might come. Remember – CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he booms, making her jump again, before grinning and bowing himself out of the room._

"Are you feeling all right, Madam Umbridge?"

Dolores removed her hands from her eyes hastily and opened them, blinking fast to help her pupils re-dilate to the bright lights of the office. Percy Weasley stood before her, looking concerned.

"Oh, well, I am feeling a little off-color," she said, which was quite an understatement. She attempted a weak smile.

"Can I get you anything?" he questioned earnestly. "A headache potion? A cup of tea?"

"A glass of water might be nice, thank you, dear," she let out on a sigh, and Weasley hastened away.

She watched him leave with vague, unfocused eyes, and couldn't stop herself from wondering how Alastor had left, how he had departed from this world. He had fallen, according to the Minister's limited knowledge. How far? Where had he landed? Had it been a hard fall? Had he died instantly on impact, or had he lay there suffering for a while? Or perhaps he had never hit the ground . . . perhaps he had landed in the ocean, or had been blasted by another spell before he could touch the earth, a spell that tore him apart, or exploded his body into thousands of little –

She hid her face again, as though hoping to shield herself from her thoughts. _Stop it, stop it, stop it._

Then again . . . perhaps he hadn't really died. Gossip was a funny thing; it could stretch and twist itself to the point of having become nearly the reversal of the truth. She knew the Minister would never tell her falsehoods on purpose, but maybe by the time the rumors had reached his ears, they had become so bent out of shape that the news about Alastor's death wasn't really . . .

_She is just sixteen, a fifth year at Hogwarts._

_(He is seventeen, a seventh year at Hogwarts.)_

_She is a Prefect now, and so is patrolling the hallways late at night, making sure no students are out wandering about when they are not supposed to be._

_She hears soft footsteps behind her, so soft it might have only been a feather brushing against the floor; but her ears are so attune to every noise that she picks up on the sound. She whirls around, her lighted wand casting around for the source of the noise._

"_I've taught you well," says an amused voice coming from a shadowed figure some feet behind her. "At last, after five years, you are finally becoming more alert to potential attacks. That's good . . . that's very good."_

"_What do you want, Alastor?" she asks wearily. Five years of knowing this boy and she is still continually exasperated by him. At least they aren't in the same year, which means their contact is limited to mealtimes and after class hours._

"_I'm just patrolling the halls. I'm a Prefect as well, you know."_

"_Well, I'm already covering this corridor, so you'd do best to go elsewhere." _

_But instead he moves forward until he is side-by-side with her, matching her gait, and they stroll down the hallway together._

"_Alastor, I'm serious," she says sternly. "Go patrol elsewhere."_

"_You know," he says thoughtfully, considering her with his dark eyes, "I'm not really sure how you ended up in Slytherin House."_

_She prickles, draws herself up to her full height (which isn't much of a height, to be blunt). His patrolling the same hallway as her has been completely forgotten in her indignation. "Excuse me?" she whips back tartly._

_She is very proud of the fact that she is in Slytherin House. She can't imagine being in any other House. Most of her family in the past has been in Ravenclaw, and she is quite proud to not only break that tradition, but to prove she is a more than competent witch._

"_Well," he says, "most Slytherins have something of a disregard to the rules. They view them more as suggestions, or ideas. You follow rules like they're a live-or-die by sort of thing."_

"_And you?" she shoots back. "Always acting the hero, running around saving a little first year from the giant squid, or protecting the smaller students from a 'bully' – constantly plunging yourself headfirst into situations without thinking it through whatsoever, with such a reckless attitude – I don't see how_ you_ ever landed in Slytherin. Seems to me you would've been a shoe-in for Gryffindor."_

_She expects him to snap back a retort, but he just nods his head. "Fair point," he says. "And that hat did think about putting me in Gryffindor, way back when. But I suppose my Slytherin traits won out in the end, considering where I stand now."_

"_I, on the other hand, am entirely Slytherin," she tries to convince him. "Determined – use any means to achieve what I desire – plenty of ambition – "_

"_What're you ambitious to do?"_

_She glares at him suspiciously, thinking he is mocking her, but his face is sincere and curious as he looks down at her._

"_I – I don't know exactly. I'd like to work in politics at the Ministry, or close to them."_

_He nods._

"_And you?" she asks._

"_Auror," he says promptly. "And I don't think you're being fair about my House, by the way. I possess plenty of Slytherin traits myself. Cunning, driven, aspiring. And surely you've seen some of the things I've done as Prefect to catch those miscreants?"_

"_Well, your trap in the Charms corridor to catch Goyle stealing from Flitwick was rather impressive," she has to admit aloud._

"_And that is the main reason why I believe the hat placed me in Slytherin," Alastor declares. "My mind works like the minds of all those riff-raffs, you see? That's why I'm good at catching them and figuring out their course of action. I think like them. The difference," he adds, shaking his head in disgust, "is that I don't act like them. I use my mind-set for bringing about good rather than wickedness."_

_Dolores would hardly call stealing Ice Mice from Flitwick's office 'wickedness,' which is what Goyle had been trying to do that day, but she keeps her mouth closed on this point. _

"_So, can we settle, then?" he inquires with the hint of a smile. "Can we settle, and agree that we both belong in Slytherin House?"_

"_I still think you would have done better in Gryffindor," she mumbles sulkily. He laughs at that, and she can't help but grin back._

"Here is your water, ma'am."

"Thank you," she said, lifting her head up and taking the offered water from Weasley, who was still looking at her with great worry.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, dear, I'll be fine." She sipped the water. "It has just been a long day, that's all."

"Yes, yes it has. Perhaps you should turn in for an early night. I could cover any of your unfinished work."

"Oh no, Mr. Weasley, you have plenty to do without completing my work in addition to yours. I shall be quite all right."

"Are you sure that – "

"I am more than able to carry on with my work despite a little illness, Mr. Weasley," she said, her tone losing some of its patience and becoming more irritable.

Weasley bowed his head. "Of course, Madam Umbridge, of course. Good day to you." He sauntered off again.

_She is seventeen, a seventh year at Hogwarts._

_(He is nineteen, training to become an Auror.)_

_She is in Hogsmeade, doing some Christmas shopping for her friends and family. She has purchased most of her gifts, and is now doing a little window shopping. It is very cold out, and as a particularly drafty breeze blows by, she tightens her cloak around her and pulls her hat more snugly around her ears._

_She is just thinking about stopping in The Three Broomsticks for a warm butterbeer when she hears a voice behind her._

"_Why are you shopping alone?"_

_She swivels around. "Why is it your concern?"_

"_I'm not concerned," Alastor answers casually, "just curious. Most people don't shop alone in Hogsmeade."_

"_You're alone," she points out rudely._

_He gives her a lopsided smile. "I guess neither of us have many friends."_

"_I have friends," she says defensively. "They're just – we aren't totally dependant on one another, we – "_

"_In other words, they're more like companions than friends," Alastor interferes. "It's okay, say no more on the subject – I get it."_

_She falls silent, glowering because that is not what she had been about to say. She is also glowering because his words are true. The girls she has spent time with all her years at Hogwarts have never been her 'friends.' She has never really had any friends. The fact has never bothered her before, and still doesn't, but something about Alastor's attitude on the subject makes her feel annoyed._

"_What are you doing here, anyway?" she asks him, with an accusatory fringe to her tone._

"_I was on my way to Hogwarts for a brief visit, since I haven't come by in nearly two years. Is it against the rule for old students to return to the building now?" _

"_Very funny," she says, in a voice that indicates she doesn't find it funny in the slightest. "So, you're training to become an Auror, aren't you? How's that going?"_

"_Quite well," says Alastor, and his face is suddenly transported, vibrant and alive with passion. _

_The pair of them have been standing stationary, but he begins to walk towards her now; absently, without even thinking about it, she makes a half-turn and ambles along beside him._

"_Are you going to tell me about the training?" Dolores questions, eyebrows raising._

"_Can't," he says importantly, "top-secret information, that is. Could cost me my life to tell you that, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"_

"_Oh, no, never," she says sardonically._

"_Ah, don't act like that, Dolores, I know that you've missed me," he intones seriously, though when she looks up at him he is grinning again._

"_Hardly," she sniffs. "It's actually very nice to not have to worry about being ambushed in the common room anymore."_

"_I only did that to benefit my peers," Alastor replies in a dignified tone. "It's very important to always be aware. _Constant vigilance_," he gnarls in her ear, his breath warm against her cheek, and she jolts from surprise._

_They have reached the fenced outskirts of the Hogsmeade perimeter; no one else is around. _

_She turns halfway round, now facing him, so he can see the scowl on her face more clearly. He is smiling in that infuriatingly crooked, sly way, as though he knows something she does not – it seems he is quite pleased with her being startled by him. Again. "That's not funny, Alastor," she reprimands him. "It's not funny how you're always trying to scare people and make them jump."_

_He shrugs, moves a step towards her. "Part of being an Auror is protecting people. The way I see it, people need to be prepared for what's out there, and the only way for them to be prepared is to experience the possibilities before the real danger actually comes knocking."_

"_Nothing's 'out there,'" she snarls, taking a step back to match the one he just took._

"_No?" says Alastor quietly. "You've heard the name Grindelwald, I'm sure?"_

"_He's been defeated," she returns sharply._

"_But who's to say no one will ever follow in his footsteps? Or that there isn't still other danger lurking around?"_

_Dolores, lost for a response to this, merely frowns at him._

"_It's just best to be prepared," Alastor concludes, and she still can't find a reply to this, so she remains quiet. "I know it's more comforting to think that 'nothing's out there,' but it's just not the reality."_

"_I suppose – I suppose that you're right," she admits, sighing and turning her gaze down to the snow on the ground, tugging at her scarf again. She hates being wrong, but what she hates even more is what he's saying: about how one should always be ready, prepared. It scares her. She doesn't think she would be prepared at all. There's only so far that knowing all the rules and memorizing all the spells can take you._

_He seems to sense that he's frightened her again, for he says, in a mock brassy voice, as though trying to make her laugh, "Don't worry – if there's ever any danger where you are, I'll protect you from it."_

"_What a kind and generous offer that is. Especially since it would be your_ job_ to protect people like me," she replies dryly._

_He chuckles, shifts another step closer; she matches him and steps backward. "Just trying to be friendly."_

"_You shouldn't try, it goes completely against your nature. Seems too unnatural."_

_He steps forward again; she steps backward again. "You're accusing me of being a fake?"_

"_No, just of trying too hard to get people to like you," says Dolores._

_Another step from him; another step from her. "Well, as I mentioned earlier, I don't have many friends."_

_Step; step. "I guess we're alike in that respect."_

_He steps forward; she steps backward, feeling her back hit against something: the fence by the Hogsmeade perimeter. It's as she makes contact with the wire, Alastor standing less than a foot away from her, that she realizes something for the first time: he's cornered her. And she wastes no time in voicing this notion aloud._

"_You've cornered me."_

_He looks down at her mildly. "Indeed I have. Took you long enough to notice."_

"_Will you ever tire of setting me up like this?" she gripes. "Trying to see how prepared I would be should an attack ever come?"_

"_You'll learn eventually to not be so vulnerable to traps. Until then, I've delegated it upon myself to teach you."_

"_I never agreed to these lessons."_

"_I never said you did," he retorts._

"_All right, I've learned my lesson," she says irritably. "Can I go now?"_

"_Leaving so soon? The snowfall has just began, surely you don't want to miss it."_

_Blinking, she casts her eyes around at their surroundings, and sure enough, snow is drifting down from the skies. She hasn't noticed until he pointed it out to her . . . she has been too focused . . ._

"_I don't like snow," she lies as some catches in her eyelashes; she blinks it away._

"_I see," he says softly, as the stuff peppers his hair._

"_So, do I have permission to leave?" she wonders sarcastically._

"_Oh, no, Dolores," he murmurs, growling the 'r' in her name in a way that sends shivers down her spine. "Standing in the snow is your punishment for being susceptible to basic trapping techniques."_

_Something strange seems to be stirring in the air between them, something she's never really felt (or been aware that she's felt) before; and absurdly, it suddenly dawns on her that Alastor is a male – not that she hasn't known this before, but it now seems a much more relevant fact – and she is a female . . . and they are in a position that, should it have been viewed by an outsider, would appear rather less than platonic . . . and also absurdly, she finds that she doesn't mind this fact . . . _

_He moves marginally closer to her; she can't pull back due to the fence this time, but doesn't think she'd be able to move even if there wasn't a wood beam pressed against her back. And he's still leaning closer to her, or maybe she's leaning closer to him, she isn't sure anymore, nothing seems really clear – her mind seems to have gone numb with the cold despite the hat sitting snug around her head. Her heart is beating loudly in her ears, and all around them the snow is swirling down in peaceful spirals like dandelion seeds being blown around in the wind . . . _

_His lips graze against hers, surprisingly soft and gentle, exploring her mouth with the lightest of touches._

_Her first kiss. She's never thought it would happen like this, standing in the snow, leaning against the fence in the village, with Alastor Moody of all people. But life rarely happens as we think it will._

_Cautiously, she kisses him back, not caring in the slightest as the snow begins to soak through her hat (not even noticing, to be perfectly honest). His hands are on her cheeks now, rougher than his lips but still perfectly welcome against her skin; she twists her fingers in his hair in an attempt to have him as close as possible . . ._

_She's convinced that she can stay like this forever, is convinced that they may have stayed like that forever, were it not for the snowball that smacks against the sides of their faces just then. The two break apart, looking around for the source of this unwelcome lump of snow, but they do not have to look far – several young boys, laughing loudly, are already running away gleefully from the scene of their crime._

_Alastor makes a twitching movement as though considering going after them, but she places a hand on his shoulder. He gets the message, and remains where he is – though as he gazes down at her, he seems quite content with staying where he is._

"_So, this was your plan from the beginning, was it?" she finally manages to say, relieved that her voice does not come out as a squeak._

"_Well, no," he admits, and then grins. "But either way, it was damn _cunning_ of me to _manipulate_ your footsteps over here, ,don't you think?"_

"_I – suppose," she says uncertainly, not exactly sure where he is going with this._

"_It was also exceedingly _self-serving_, going through a good deal to get what I wanted, wouldn't you agree?"_

_Catching on, she smiles benignly. "You could say that," she murmurs._

"_And it took a lot of _determination_ to go through with all that, hmm?"_

"_Hmm," she echoes, pretending to give this a good deal of thought. "Yes, I guess I have to agree with you on all those counts."_

_His mouth curves, eyes gleaming. "You see?" he whispers huskily, cradling her face in his hands again as he leans towards her. "Slytherin through-and-through."_

For reasons that Dolores did not understand, most of the Aurors she asked to accompany her on the expedition to find Alastor Moody's body declined. Then again, perhaps she should not have started with the ones working for the Order. She had thought it would be kinder to offer the positions to them first, would thought that it would be a nice gesture, a way to perhaps bridge the gap between the Ministry and the Order before the two were completely and irreversibly severed from one another.

But, alas, this did not work out. Tonks and Shacklebolt both declined her with barely suppressed disgust. Perhaps the Order was already attempting their own means to find the retired Auror's body.

By the end of her round in the Auror department, she had managed to get a small team together: Dawlish, Savage, and Williamson all agreed to accompany her on the journey tomorrow afternoon.

With this arranged, she stepped into one of the Ministry fireplaces and returned to her home. It was dinnertime, but she was not hungry. A cup of tea seemed to be in order though. A very strong cup. No cream, and certainly no sugar. Perhaps a shot of whiskey mixed in. Yes, that sounded nice.

Focusing her thoughts entirely on this future cup of tea, not allowing her mind to stray anywhere else, she bustled to her kitchen to make such a cup.

When our mind (or rather, our heart) betrays us and does not contain itself to mundane issues, however, plans often go astray. It was for this reason that, five minutes later, Dolores was sitting at her kitchen table – not with a cup of tea with no sugar, no cream, and a shot of whiskey – but with a whole bottle of Firewhiskey.

She downed a third of the bottle in one go, pulling it away from her lips when the scalding in her throat became so great she truly thought she might be sick. Breathing hard, she stared at the rim of the bottle, tracing her finger around its edge slowly. It felt good, the Firewhiskey: the burning sensation spreading down her throat and throughout the rest of her body; the hazy numbness slowly fogging her brain; the tingle creeping through her limbs. It felt good not to have to think clearly anymore. It felt good not to have to feel.

_Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it._

The old words that Dumbledore had once told a room filled with silent students whispered inside her head. She had been fifteen, sitting through the most miserable dinner she had ever sat through. Grindelwald had recently killed one of her fellow students. She had not known him well – it had been a third year Ravenclaw – but the whole school had been shaken bottom-up by the news. Many of the students had been trying to forget the whole thing, skipping classes to spend hours attempting to sleep in their dormitories, or else trying to smuggle alcohol into the school.

Two nights after they all had heard the news, Dumbledore had stood up from the High Table, murmured something to their headmaster as though asking for permission, and then gave a short but powerful speech to all of the watchful students staring up at him. So many years later, she had forgotten most of the speech by now, but that line – for reasons unknown – had always stood out to her.

With a look of both longing and despondence, Dolores placed the bottle on the table, folding her hands in her lap so she would not be tempted to pick it up again. She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes, and let the gut-wrenching feelings and memories have another go at tearing her apart. Why prolong and worsen the pain, after all?

_She is twenty, doing gofer work for the Ministry._

_(He is twenty-two, an Auror.)_

_She has been working at the Ministry for several years now, ever since she graduated Hogwarts. It is her dream to eventually be in one of the high power positions, but so far, no one seems to have recognized her talent. She has been stuff doing trivial tasks for two years now, filing papers and addressing envelopes and other mindless duties. It occasionally becomes discouraging as she wonders whether her career will ever take off or if she should just quit now and spare herself the heartache, but she is determined to rise beyond all these menial chores. She may not know when, but she is going to show them all that she is more than all this, that is for certain._

"_Good afternoon."_

_She doesn't jolt, but she does twist her neck around at a rapid pace to look up at the person who is standing behind her chair. "This isn't your department, Alastor."_

"_It's great to see you too." He places his hands on the armrests of her chair, leaning over the back of the seat. "How're you doing?"_

"_As well as I could be," she expires on a low breath, casting her eyes around hopelessly at the paperwork she is currently filing. "And you?"_

"_Quite well. Slow day in the Auror department, but I'm not complaining." _

_Alastor has just recently finished his four-year Auror training. She couldn't be happier for him, but at times she can't help but feel a little resentful that he is doing what he has always longed to do while she is still stuck in her little 'assistant' role._

"_I just wanted to drop in and see how you were doing," he goes on._

"_I'm all right," she says, relaxing, leaning back into the chair and resting her head against his chest. "Thank you," she adds sincerely. _

_It is sometimes hard for her to believe that this wonderful person is really hers, even if they have been dating for three years. She knows that she is no great catch for a man; she's not attractive by any means, physical or psychological, really. It just amazes her every now and again that Alastor Moody has somehow managed to see something beautiful within her, something that she herself can't always see._for_ you."_

He kisses the top of her head. "Keep your chin up," he tells her. "One day, all of these clods you're working for right now are going to be working

"_They're not clods," she says defensively, but she's laughing. "Now get back to work before I let them know you're here."_

"_Fine," he says in a voice of mock huffiness, "I know when I'm not wanted." He makes his exit, brushing his fingers against the back of her hand as he goes._

She did not sleep at all that night, but instead squeezed her eyes shut with a determination that only years of working at the Ministry could have taught her, tossing from side to side. At ten past four in the morning, she finally deemed this whole sleep concept pointless, and decided to just get an early start to her day.

As always, she made her bed, smoothed the pillows, and straightened all the objects on her side-table. As always, she showered, freshened up, and slipped into her clothes for the day. As always, she sat down at the kitchen table with her dainty breakfast of toast, marmalade, and tea with two teaspoons of sugar and a dollop of cream. Not as always, she then sat staring at her newly prepared food and drink, not touching any of it.

She wasn't hungry, which was very odd, considering all she'd had for dinner was some Firewhiskey. She wasn't very thirsty either. But she was on a tight schedule, so she forced herself to eat and drink every last speck, despite the fact that it all tasted like cardboard.

Once that was completed, Dolores used Floo Powder to get to the Ministry. She passed through security easily, heading purposely for her office, where she sat down and began to idly examine the latest _Daily Prophet_, before turning her attention to some new laws on the brink of being passed.

The majority of her day passed like any other, with her sitting at her desk doing whatever needed to be done. It was easier, at least, to keep her thoughts about Alastor at bay with so many distractions in front of her. That's not to say, however, that there weren't moments when her guard went down and she found herself gazing at the wall with glassy eyes, her thumb absently flipping back and forth against the corner of a document, memories pressing before her eyes so vividly it was as though she were there again . . .

_She is twenty-three, working for the Ministry in the Improper Use of Magic department._

_(He is twenty-five, working as an Auror.)_

_She is sitting next to him in her house, settled comfortably on a couch, listening vaguely to the WWN playing. A song by Gemia Krypo slowly fades away, and the announcer's voice resounds throughout the room._

"_That was Gemia Krypo, singing Enchant Me – and speaking of Gemia, we have some very exciting news that has just been released! Rodil Senoc , long-time beau of Gemia, has just proposed to her! The wedding will take place next summer . . ."_

_Dolores is distracted from listening to him when Alastor shifts his position on the couch._

"_Something wrong?" she asks him._

_He shifts again, stares down at his legs. "I . . . ah, that announcement about those two getting engaged seemed like the perfect lead-in to this conversation, but it's harder to say out loud . . ." He heaves a tired breath and looks over at her._

"_Just tell me," she says._

"_Well . . . I – I'm sure you've wondered why I've never proposed to you after all these years."_

_She shrugs. "The thought's crossed my mind," she confesses, "but I've never been terribly fussed about it."_

"_It's just . . . I care about you, but I wouldn't want to. . . . See, you and I, we would never work out as a married couple – we're too ambitious, too driven . . ." He grins then. "Too alike."_

"_You think we're alike?" she asks, surprised._

"_Exceedingly," he says. "Don't you?"_

"_No."_

_He seems just as surprised by this statement as she is by the fact that he thinks them alike. "Really? Why's that?"_

"_Because we . . . because you're . . . well, you're braver than I am . . . you don't feel as much of a need as I do to boast when you accomplish something spectacular. You're able to respond well under pressure, in a fight or tough situation, I can never do that . . . you would willingly sacrifice yourself to save someone's life, even if you didn't know the person. You're tidier, more careful, thoughtful – more paranoid," she adds teasingly, and then turns serious again. "We . . . I don't think we're that similar at all, to be truthful."_

_He views her with considering eyes for a long moment, and then slowly shakes his head. "Dolores, we've known each other for years now; surely you can't honestly think we have nothing in common?"_

"_I do think that," she confirms._

"_We're both not very social. We're both stubborn as mules. We like our meat rare."_

"_Those are trivial things," she interrupts. "I'm talking about things that really define who we are – " _

"_We both have tempers. We like to be in command. We lead with our heads before our hearts. We'd sacrifice everything for what we believe in." He looks at her hard. "How is that not alike?"_

"_I'd . . . never thought of it like that before," she has to confess. "But I still don't think . . ."_

"_It doesn't matter. The only reason I brought it up was because . . . it's just something I've been thinking about for a while – marriage, I mean . . . and I was worried that you were feeling . . . that you felt . . . as though I didn't care . . ."_

"_How could I possibly think you didn't care?" she asks softly, and scoots over on the sofa, wrapping her arms around his muscled torso. She leans into him, inhales, breathes him in._

_He puts his arm around her back, pulls her nearer, and speaks to the top of her head. "Well . . . did you realize that we've been – that we've been – involved – together for almost six years? I thought that you would have worried . . . wondered . . . most women would've . . ."_

"_Most women would have, would they?" she repeats back to him, laughing, pulling back slightly to look at his face. "You're an expert on females now, are you?"_

_He grunts, which she is apparently supposed to take for a reply. Sobering again, she reaches up one hand and runs it down his stubbled cheek. "I agree with you. We wouldn't do well as a married couple – it's better to keep things as they are. But I never questioned how you feel about me, Alastor – you never needed to propose to me to prove that you cared." _

_He is visibly more relaxed now than before and smiles down at her tenderly. She threads her fingers through his hair. _

"_There are other ways of knowing that someone loves you," she tells him gently._

_There comes a point when there are no more words to be exchanged, when there is nothing more that can be said. And so the two said no more as lips joined, as hands fumbled, as garments fell to the floor – for there are some times when words just aren't enough._

* * *

**A/N: This story came together in strange, small bits and pieces, and I'd like to briefly tell you all how it came to be. The first piece was my reading Mitch Albom's _The Five People You Meet In Heaven_. I thought it was a lovely book, and one of my favorite things about it was that the present was being told in past tense, and the past was being told in present tense. The second piece was my listening to PotterCast, a wonderful Harry Potter podcast. They were discussing what House various minor characters would have been placed in, and the end result for both Umbridge and Moody was Slytherin. And the third piece was my wandering through a store and glimpsing a movie titled _Things We Lost In The Fire_. I had no idea what the movie was about (and still don't, to be honest), but I instantly fell in love with the title and scribbled it in my handy dandy notebook.**

**All right, I suppose that's enough of me rambling. Anyway, I hope you liked this, and that you return for the second and final chapter of this story. Do let me know your thoughts about this chapter too.**


	2. Chapter Two

It was as though her domestic, friendly cat had become vicious and snarling. As though her teddy bear had been thrown into the ocean to waste away. A new, expensive bracelet that had been smashed by the neighborhood bully. A toddler who had been eaten alive by flames. A fairy whose wings had been ripped off.

Her world had been shattered, irreversibly, permanently. No matter how it was worded, no matter how she tried to hide it – that was the truth she could not escape from no matter how hard or fast she ran.

She had gotten used to missing him – he hadn't been a part of her life for quite some time. But this was different. Despite the fact that he hadn't been in her life, she had still always known he was there. She had depended on his presence, his solid, unwavering form always being there in the background, hovering around the border of her life. It didn't make much sense, but it was true, and nothing more could be done about it.

_She is twenty-nine, working for Magical Law Enforcement._

_(He is thirty-one, an Auror.)_

_She is working hard at the moment, writing letters, patching up laws, ensuring that everything is running smoothly. She is starting to become noticed by those higher up in the Ministry – some of her drafted-up regulations and laws have even been put into use! She is very proud._

_Alastor comes in. She doesn't even have to look up to know that it is him; she can recognize his purposeful, stumping steps._

"_Hello, Alastor," she says distractedly, signing a letter with a flourish of her quill._

_He doesn't give a response, and she looks up. His eyes are narrowed; he seems cross._

"_What's wrong?" she asks concernedly, laying down her quill._

_He pounds up to her desk, brandishing several papers in her face. "Why are you restricting the centaurs' living area?" he questions her in a tight, constricted voice, as though holding back raging emotions._

_She is surprised. "You're upset about _that_?"_

"_Obviously," he growls._

"_I – Alastor, those restrictions are supposed to beneficial to the wizarding world – they aren't supposed to be a cause for our kind to be upset – " She is so stunned by his anger that she can barely formulate a sentence._

"_It's not right, Dolores."_

"_Not right?" she echoes. "What do you – ?"_

"_They have a right to the land just as much as we do."_

"_They're – Alastor, they're _half-breeds_," she informs him. "They aren't like us, therefore they are not entitled to the same rights as we are."_

"_They have minds, they have emotions, they have the ability to think rationally – even if they would usually rather gaze at the stars. You can't just – "_

"_Actually, I can," she counters coolly, her former shock steadily being replaced with fury. "And I have – so there isn't any use arguing the point. They are half-breeds, they have only near-human intelligence, and should be treated as such."_

_He shakes his head, staring at her with intense yet repressed rage, like a balloon about to burst. "You're being unreasonable."_

"_Unreasonable?" she repeats, the word resonating with a shrill cry. "Unreasonable? I am not the one barging in declaring that filthy half-breeds should be treated as though they are part of the wizarding community when they clearly are – "_

"_All right, then," Alastor says roughly, slapping the papers down onto her desk and then bringing them to his sides, "what about all these restrictions you're putting on the werewolves?"_

"_They're half-breeds too," she says with finality to her tone._

"_They're _humans _who have no choice but to become animals once a month!"_

"_They're not like us," says Dolores, "and they are a danger to society. Imagine having a werewolf working at a shop full of happy, uncontaminated people, or in a Ministry office – people would be bitten right and left, our world would be in a shambles! And it's not as though I was the one who came up with these decrees, they have been in place for years now – "_

"_That's true," he says bitingly, "but you've elaborated on those decrees and made it even more difficult for werewolves to find work." _

"_I am doing it for the good of the wizarding world!" she shouts. "Much as you do _your_ job for the good of our world!"_

_He's breathing in a shallow way. "That is completely different."_

"_How so?" she demands._

_But his only response is to shake his head, as though he does not even want to waste his time trying to explain this simple concept to her._

_She rockets to her feet. "Don't just shake your head at me! I want to know what makes our professions so vastly different! I want to know why you're doing good in the world and I'm not!" _

_It registers dimly in her mind that with her yelling so loudly, people might come in and see what is wrong, but she does not care. Let them see then, if they must. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly as she stares wildly at him, waiting for a reply._

"_You want to know why?" he says finally. "Fine, I'll tell you why. It's because I'm not selecting who I'm fighting to protect based on their background or their blood – I'm fighting for the ones who deserve it, the ones who are good creatures, be it human or animal. That's why our jobs are different, Dolores." _

_He shakes his head again, though not with anger this time, with bewilderment. "I just don't see why you're doing this. You never . . . I never . . . I don't understand your motives."_

"_Alastor, they're not part of our – "_

_But he seems determined to get everything off his chest now that he's began. "They're as much a part of our world as any other witch or wizard, even if they don't possess the same powers as us, and you've no right or reason to do this to them. It's disgusting. It's sick. Is this really how you want to spend your life, making pathetic changes to the laws, when you could actually be doing some good in the world? And what in the name of Merlin are you wearing?"_

_This last question is such a tangent from his other words that she looks down at her attire blankly for a long moment before resuming her gaze on him. "It's . . . they're robes, Alastor, what are you talking about?"_

"_They're so – pink," he grunts, eyeing them with a revolted expression. "And – fluffy."_

"_Yes, well, I just bought them a few days ago, and I like them," she says, smoothing down the robes. "I don't see what you have against them, but – " She breaks off, gives him an incredulous look. For a brief moment, she has forgotten that they have been arguing only seconds before._

"_Why are we discussing my _robes_?" she cries out. "I thought we were talking about _rights_!"_

"_No, we're just talking about you in general, Dolores, because frankly I don't really know who you are anymore."_

"_Then why are you still here?" she asks coldly. She is tired of playing this game with him._

_He blinks, caught off-guard, but then tries to resume his scowl. "Because you're being – because I'm trying to – you are just – " _

_But then the scowl falls off his face again, dissolves like salt specks into water, and he looks at her with tranquil resignation. "Because I care about you."_

_She opens her mouth, then closes it, gazing at him intently. She then lowers her head and leans back miserably against her desk._

"_I'm just trying to bring some order to the ever-reigning chaos," she mumbles. "Make a difference in this world."_

"_I know," he says quietly. "You just have to be careful what kind of difference you make, Dolores."_

_Hesitantly, she meets his eyes again. It seems to take some effort, but he manages to smile at her, and then opens his arms and growls at her, "C'mere."_

_She steps forward and permits his arms to enclose her. She closes her eyes and melts in his embrace._

"_I'm sorry for shouting," she murmurs against his chest. "But I do have to do what I think is right . . ."_

_There is a pause._

"_I suppose you do," he sighs, rubbing light fingers over her back. "I'm sorry for shouting also."_

"_So we're . . . okay?" she asks uncertainly, pulling away to peer up at him._

_He smiles, brushes his lips over her forehead. "Yes, we're fine."_

"_Do you really not like the robes?" she asks, plucking at the left sleeve with her fingers. "I thought they were nice . . ."_

"_I like them if you like them," he replies firmly, and that's good enough for her._

_After a few more words and kisses, Alastor leaves her office. And though it is with a contented smile that Dolores sit back down behind her desk, she can't help but feel that yet again, something strange is stirring in the air between them._

The truth was something she couldn't deny, but that didn't mean that she had to dwell in her sorrow either. She needed to hollow out her feelings, put aside what she felt. Toughen up. Be strong.

A sudden thought, one that simultaneously terrified and enchanted her, suddenly wormed its way into her mind. She hovered for a moment, completely still in her chair, spine frozen as her hands clutched the rim of her desk.

Then, moving as quickly as she could before she would change her mind about doing this, Dolores yanked open one of the smaller drawers on her desk, lifted up a stack of papers, and opened up the box she had kept the item (she had hidden it well for good reason; she didn't want anyone snooping around and finding such a beautiful item, after all).

Hardly breathing, she removed the necklace from its container. The pendant caught the light and gleamed a sparkling gold; the little emeralds, curved in the shape of an 's', twinkled.

It was gorgeous, an ancient object that no doubt held extraordinary history. She did not know the exact origins of the locket; she had snatched it from a thief who had been trying to make a few quick Galleons. Upon first receiving it, she had immediately clasped the necklace around her neck, wearing it proudly for days on end. It was beautiful. It was valuable. It was envied by others. What more could she want from the locket? She loved every part of it.

It was on the fifth day of her with the brooch against her throat that she began to notice something . . . different. She felt more . . . irritable than usual, and disagreeable. She also felt . . . hungry. But not for food; it was for something that she didn't quite know, couldn't quite identify. She did not connect these feelings with the locket; she thought she was just going through some mood-swings.

As the days wore on, the feelings of irritability and grumpiness increased, along with her hunger. The difference now was that she knew what to feed this hunger that would make her stomach stop rumbling: power. When she was able to exercise her power, when she was able to be stronger than others, that was when all the other grouchiness faded away – that was when she felt good.

It took a few more days for her to realize that she didn't like what was happening to her. She wasn't herself anymore. Yes, the power felt good – it felt _incredible_, she was hardened to everything – but there were sacrifices that had been made, and they were sacrifices that she missed. She no longer enjoyed her mandatory morning and afternoon cups of tea, no longer cared for her cat, no longer enjoyed simply talking unless she was using her power. They were little things, but they mattered. Eventually, she connected it all to the locket, and it was with mingled regret and relief that she removed the thing and hid it away in her desk drawers.

And here she was now, about to put the thing on again. Was she mad?

But she needed it this time. It would protect her, shield her from all emotions but the hunger. That was what she required.

Because she didn't want to feel anymore. She didn't want to care.

With slightly shaking fingers, she fastened the locket around her neck, patting it smooth against her chest, where she knew it would be remaining for a good long while.

_She is forty-one, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister._

_(He is forty-three, a seasoned Auror.)_

_She strides down a hall at the Ministry with a brisk, anxious step. It is 1971, and a war is beginning to brew. Everyone is under constant strain, working harder than ever. As the Aurors are some of the busiest of all, she hardly sees Alastor anymore, though she supposes that might be a good thing. Their relationship has been tense at best during these past few years._

_They pass each other in the halls, and he corners her. _

"_Why," he demands to know, "is the _Prophet_ hardly mentioning any of the deaths and disappearances that've been happening?"_

"_I don't work for the _Prophet_," she snips back frostily. "I suggest you ask them."_

"_It's your lot that's leaning on them to hush all these things up."_

"'_My lot'? What do you mean by that?"_

"_You, the Minister, and all the other little cohorts he's got running around for him – "_

"_There is no need for the general public to know of every single death!" she snaps, firing up. "They're happier not knowing!"_

"_They have a _right _to know! And don't act as though you actually care about the general public," he sneers, "all you care about is protecting yourself, keeping yourself in a position of power, because you like to feel _strong_ and _importan_t."_

"_Stop pretending like you understand me," Dolores says angrily. "You have no idea – "_

_But he has already stomped off._

The day became a bit more bearable after securing the locket around her throat. She got through her work with minimal difficulties. She managed to talk cordially with the Minister during lunch break, even was able to smile and giggle a few times. Her stomach felt queasy in a way that had nothing to do with the food she'd consumed after lunch, but she merely strode back to her office, gripping the necklace hard in her fist until its cold had suffused her entire being.

Once the day was, at last, over, she picked her way over to the Auror department and tussled up Williamson, Dawlish, and Savage. The odd group made their way to the front of the Ministry, where they then Apparated off to the location the Minister had suggested to begin their search.

_She is fifty, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister._

_(He is fifty-two, a renowned Auror)._

_She stands opposite him yet again, as they go through another of their arguments. The war is worse than ever. Catastrophes happen daily. Tensions are high. Trusting anyone is a dangerous business. Nobody feels safe._

"_This is stupid," she cries at him. "Our constant fighting and going at each other's throats is just stupid. We should be on the same side – we both want You-Know-Who dead."_

"_But we have different ways of going about that want," says Alastor quietly._

_She leans back against the wall, wipes at her forehead in exhaustion (sleep is also difficult in these dark times). "We should be on the same side," she says again, in a weaker voice._

_He observes her for a moment or two, leaning on the walking stick he recently acquired after a nasty combat with a Death Eater._

"_You want to know why I never kill any of the Death Eaters that I catch, Dolores?" he says at last in a low tone. "It's not because I'm weak, it's not because I couldn't commit a murder if I tried – it's because I know I wouldn't be able to handle killing someone. I wouldn't be able to handle that sort of power. If I killed one of them, I would have to kill them all – it would become an obsession, a search, a constant drive to feel powerful and strong. I would have to exercise those feelings, lord them over others. _

"_I know what it would to do me. That's why I don't do it. That's why I don't kill them. I don't want to be on an endless chase for power – I want to do the right thing."_

_She takes a deep breath, pushes off from the wall, stands up straight. "So, I guess we're on completely different sides, then?"_

_He looks her in the eye, and she looks back, and she knows that he understands her question entirely – she is not just speaking about sides of the war here. She is speaking about their relationship. She is speaking about them. _

_They have not exactly been 'together' in years, but there was never an official separation either. But she realizes now that they've both just been delaying the inevitable. They've both just been biding their time before going through with what they must go through with. What they must inevitably end._

"_Yes," he says quietly. "Yes."_

"So, where do you believe the fall was, Madam Umbridge?" Savage asked her, as the three Aurors and Senior Undersecretary to the Minister prowled around the outskirts of a Muggle village.

Dolores studied the magic-filled map that Scrimgeour had given her: the area that he had calculated to be where Alastor's body flashed in a yellow border.

"We are on the edge of where the Minister thinks he fell," she told them. "The area he marked does cover about a mile from its center though. I suggest that we split up and search – between the human revealer spell and magical detection spells, we should be able to locate him fairly easily."

"With the greatest respect, Madam Umbridge, I don't think it's wise to split up," said Dawlish. "Death Eaters could be lollygagging around even now – it would be wisest to stay together . . ."

"No Death Eaters are going to come and attack us," said Dolores, waving her hand carelessly. "They don't care about us right now, they're still sore over losing Potter. Besides, we won't be that far away from each other, it isn't a large area that we have to search."

In addition to hardening her, the locket seemed to give her confidence too. Or perhaps it was just arrogance. Either way, it was not an unpleasant feeling – more pleasant, at least, than the other emotions fighting to escape the shell that the locket had formed around them.

Nobody seemed to want to argue with her, though she did distinctly see Dawlish and Williamson share wary looks.

With a wave of her wand, she duplicated the map three times, so that she and each of her companions would know where to look. She handed them out, then proceeded on with her scouting of the area, doing her best to focus on _where_ she was looking rather than_ what_ she was looking for.

_She is fifty-seven, still securely Senior Undersecretary to the Minister._

_(He is fifty-nine, still an Auror.)_

_She walks the hallways calmly now. The war has been over for some years. There is no impending doom, no looming threat. No worries that all you know could suddenly be destroyed in one violent, unexpected swoop._

_She passes him as she walks along. They barely acknowledge each other. It is as if they are strangers._

He _is_ a stranger, _she thinks. _You don't know who he's become. He's a stranger to you now.

_It's not as though this never happens, them brushing by one another. They do work at the same place, after all._

_She tells herself it doesn't matter. She tells herself she doesn't care. She tells herself she has everything she has ever wanted – a high-up job at the Ministry, and people who listen and admire her ideas. If Alastor Moody can't respect what she does, then that's fine: she doesn't want to be involved with him if he can't live with the good she is doing for the wizarding world. She tells herself she doesn't need someone around who can't even support her in what she does._

_She tells herself she doesn't care about him anymore._

_She tells herself it doesn't hurt when he walks by._

_(But it does.)_

"_Homenum revelio,"_ Dolores muttered, pointing her wand around as she stalked forward slowly, a cougar on the prowl. _"Homenum revelio. Homenum revelio."_

She had been saying the spell about every few feet, but so far, it hadn't done much good. The only bodies that kept showing up were the bodies of her three companions. She was not sure whether to feel relieved – she didn't really know if she wanted to see his body, mangled and twisted from the fall . . . or if she should feel upset – if the body wasn't around, that might've meant that some animal had come and torn it apart . . .

The locket was thudding in time to her own heart as she grasped it between her fingers tightly. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether it was the pulse of her fingers or the pulse of the brooch she was feeling; both were becoming almost interchangeable. That was good, she kept telling herself, that was a good thing. This locket was going to become a part of her. It was going to make her the strong and unfeeling woman she needed to be to continue on in this world.

She needed this locket in a way that she needed nothing else. In a way that she needed no one else.

_She is sixty-six, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and former Hogwarts staff member._

_(He is sixty-eight, a retired Auror.)_

_She is sitting at the counter of a dingy Muggle bar in the middle of nowhere. She normally doesn't visit places like this – she prefers places with more class, and places without Muggles – but she hasn't been feeling very normal as of recently. Besides, tonight she wants a place where no one knows her, and this tiny pub fulfills that requirement._

_She picks up her glass of whiskey, takes a small sip. When she first arrived at the pub, she had been wanting alcohol desperately. Yet once the glass was in front of her, she found no real desire to drink it, but rather just to sit slouched over, inhaling the fumes of the drink and enjoying the anonymity she had in such a place. So she just sits there now, elbows on the table, body slumped. The war has been getting worse with each passing day, the Ministry is under more pressure than ever, and it has been starting to weigh on her. That is why she had needed to get out tonight._

"_I certainly never thought you'd degrade yourself enough to show up in a place like this, Dolores," comes a low voice from behind her._

_Dolores closes her eyes, as though by doing this she can make him disappear, as though by doing this he will have never been there in the first place. She does not want to see _anyone_ she knows tonight; he is at the very bottom of her list._

_Over to her right, there is the sound of chair legs scraping against floor. She reluctantly opens her eyes. He sits beside her at the counter, expression disdainful, a bowler hat pulled over his magical eye._

"_And you?" she snips back. She may not want him here, but that does not mean she is going to ignore him – or worse, beg him to go away. Dolores Umbridge always fights back. "Is this a place you come to often? I should have known that, I suppose . . . a lot of your characters around this area."_

"_And not many of yours," he replies coolly._

"_I can decide to spend my evening here if I so wish it," says Dolores pridefully. "I can make my own decisions."_

"_Well, that's surprising. I was under the impression that everyone in the inner circle of the Ministry was just spouting each other's words on various matters."_

"_What would you know about how the Ministry is working these days? You're retired and working full-time for that bloody Order of the Phoenix."_

"_Yes, and I've been doing things that are much more useful than what you've been up to."_

"_Than what I've been up to? I – you don't – the Ministry is on the same side as the Order, Alastor!" she cries, attracting some attention from the other occupants of the bar. Lowering her voice again, she hisses, "Just because the Order refuses to let us help, to trust us – "_

"_You have shown no reason to be trusted. Not you, and not any of the other pigs that you work with – "_

_She has a retort ready for this, and is fully ready to give it, when a strange and unexplainable thing happens: she begins to cry. It is not really for any particular reason, it is not really because of what Alastor Moody is saying to her. It has all just become too much for her: all the stress from her job; the tension she feels when speaking to anyone, even companions; the constant deaths and disappearances; the overwhelming feeling that she is powerless despite having the power she has always wanted; the long and sleepless and lonely nights . . ._

_It has all just become too much, and this is the icing on the cake, the last straw, the insult to injury – and in this moment, she can hold back the outpouring of emotion no longer. She cries, she sobs, she bawls, noisily, putting her hands over her face in a feeble attempt to disguise the weakness she is showing. It doesn't help: she can still feel the eyes of everyone in the dingy bar on her, staring bug-eyed._

_Lithely, with an agility that she has not seen him exhibit in years, Alastor is on his feet. He puts one arm around her shoulders, the other grasping one of her forearms, and it is in this manner that he pulls her off the stool she has been sitting on and leads her towards the less crowded area that is at the back of the pub. _

_Through her fingers, she sees him push her down into a vacant chair in the corner; still holding onto her, he sits down next to her._

"_Shh," he says softly, suddenly much gentler, "shh . . . it's okay, you're okay . . . Dolores, I'm sorry . . ."_

"_It's – not – just – about – you," she chokes out between sobs. "It's – everything – and – "_

"_Shh," he says again. "Don't try to talk now."_

_She falls silent, sniffling and blubbering into her fingers as she tries to master herself. At last she finally has herself under control, and manages to stammer in a small voice, "It's just – too much – the war – and I try to – help – but I don't know – and then you – but I don't – I can't – "_

_She swallows, takes a deep breath, determined to get at least one coherent thought out._

"_I miss you," she breathes. _

_She isn't able to get out anymore than this, for her throat closes up again, but he seems to understand everything just from those three words. His arms still firm around her shuddering form, he begins to murmur, so as not to be overhead by anyone in the vicinity._

"_Sometimes, Dolores," he begins huskily, "sometimes things . . . sometimes things get lost in the fire, the fire of war. And we – we just have to learn to let them go, these things, because the remains – what's left from the fire – they're burned and charred and broken, and they won't do us any good."_

_She takes a deep breath, presses her face into his chest. "But I still remember what they looked like before the fire," she whispers to his shirt._

_He sighs. "So do I," he mutters gutturally. "So do I. But that still won't restore things, just because we remember. It's – the fire has – the damage is too deep. We learned that years ago, Dolores. We just have to accept it."_

_Taking one moment longer to savor her burned remains of the fire, she nods . . . and then finally pulls away._

"Hey, I think I found something!" Savage yelled out unexpectedly, jerking Dolores from her reverie. "It's not much of the poor guy, he must've been either torn apart, or else his body landed somewhere else and the eye fell out – " her heart gave two painful twists as her imagination pictured both of those gruesome thoughts " – but, well, it's something."

"Bring it here, Savage," she commanded, and he trotted over to her, Dawlish and Williamson coming behind.

"Well?" said Dolores, when Savage was standing feet away from her. He did not seem to be holding anything – not abandoned robes, or a stray shoe, or a severed limb . . . anything. "Did you get the item or not?" she asked impatiently.

Savage held out his left arm; his hand was closed into a fist, then he opened his fingers. Resting against his open palm was Alastor Moody's magical blue eye.

"It was the only bit I found," said Savage, sounding a little apologetic – perhaps her stunned face, staring fixedly at the eye, had him worried. Even the locket, it seemed, couldn't wrestle away a shock such as this. "Should we keep looking or call it a day, ma'am?"

"We – we should call it a day," she managed to get out. "We can bury the eye, at least. Or – even better – we won't bury it – I've been needing a way to make sure the Ministry workers are all doing their job, and not loitering or going off-task. I shall use this eye to watch them. We must have order, after all."

She had no idea where the idea or the words had come from. The locket was beginning to go cold against her skin – that meant it was warming up. That meant it was just beginning its influence over her. She needed influence though; without it, she would be a crumpled mass of grief upon the ground, unable to function.

The Aurors stared at her for a minute, then they slowly broke into nods of agreement.

"Good plan, Madam Umbridge," said Dawlish.

"Very," agreed Williamson.

Savage grinned a little, and handed the eye to her. "That eye can watch over them all."

She arranged a smile, holding the eye gingerly. "Yes – yes, it can."

With their work done and permission to leave, the three men bid her their good-byes, and Apparated away to their homes. She stood for a moment, staring at the spots they had disappeared from, then looked down at Alastor's eye. Before, when she had first seen the object, it was constantly swiveling and darting around, taking in every detail of its surroundings. Now, it was still and cold in her hand, staring up at her, wide and blank.

She looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken with the coming of dusk, blinking wetly up at the faint stars. "Maybe you can watch over me too, Alastor," she whispered, closing her fingers around the eye.

_--Fin_


End file.
